Month: June 2014

Wouldn’t it be nice if Twitter had an Export button? You search for something, maybe an #hashtag or your brand name, and all the matching tweets would get saved in a spreadsheet or another file format of your choice. And, better still, the archive would update itself as new matching tweets are posted on Twitter in the future.

Well, Twitter is unlikely to provide you an option to save search results directly but here’s a do-it-yourself solution that takes 5-minutes to implement (watch video) and it will save all matching tweets for your search term(s) in a Google Spreadsheet automatically.

The idea is simple. We’ll have a Google Spreadsheet that will talk to Twitter through a Google Script and will import all the search results into the sheet. It will make this connection to Twitter every few minutes and fetches all the new tweets that have been added to Twitter since the last check.

Save Tweets Forever in a Spreadsheet

Click here to copy the Twitter Archiver sheet into your Google Drive. Set the name of the sheet as any hashtag or a search phrase. For instance, you could set the sheet name as #WorldCup2014 to save all the FIFA related tweets.

Go to apps.twitter.com and create a new application. Put http://ift.tt/PDVGTM as the Callback URL and save your changes. Select the API Keys tab and make a note of the Twitter Consumer Key and Secret.

Switch to your Google sheet and select Tools -> Script Editor. Don’t worry, you don’t have to write a single line of code here, just copy-paste the Twitter secret and key inside the editor. Now select the Run menu, choose Initialize and grant the necessary permissions.

That’s it. The tweets will now appear inside your Google Sheet. These are the first set of 100 tweets and new tweets will be automatically pulled and added into your sheet every few minutes.

In addition to tweets, the Twitter Archiver app also imports other data like the tweet’s retweet & favorite count and the tweeter’s friend & followers count. This data will help you filter out the spam or figure out the most influential tweets from the imported data.

The Twitter Archiver sheet will run in the background and monitor Twitter for new tweets. If you would like to stop the tracker, go to the Script Editor and choose Stop from the Run menu as shown in the screencast video.

Twitter Archiver – Video

Since the tweets are saved in a standard spreadsheet, you can easily export the search results in various formats including PDF, CSV or even publish your data set as an HTML web page (choose File -> Publish to Web inside Google Sheets). Advanced users may try this technique to create JSON or RSS Feeds from Twitter.

Referencing Jackson C Frank and Nick Drake is how the press release greets to describe the latest track to be showcased from Jon Allen’s forthcoming third set ‘deep river’ due for release on monologue early July. A tall order and a lot to live up to but ‘Lady of the Water’ acquits itself admirably. In short the most elegantly beautiful thing we’ve heard in such an age, really is a class apart, indeed possessed of the bittersweet yearn and faraway forlorn introspection of Drake at his most tender and inquisitive.

‘Lady of the Water’ is a spectral magicalia softly turned in pastoral posies and brimming in bewitchment, all at once haunting and hollowed its honeyed genteelness is draped in tumbling finger picked chords whose ghostly aftertaste ought to appeal to those admiring of a shy eyed and reclining Rodriguez. The video incidentally was crafted by Akira the Don, Allen will take the album ona nationwide tour this coming fall.

Forlorn, and exhausted, I made my way on site to Primavera Festival for the third of the three official days, with luggage, with the premise of heading straight from the Parc del Forum to Barcelona’s airport. Not short of a few second glances, I made it thankfully to the press lounge with little in the way of glitches, and an encounter with a Catalan toddler who made the smug effort to work out my language of choice, exclaiming “hello” as I walked off the metro, a lovely brushing of cultures and ages.

Once settled with suitcase stored and locked in press lounge, there was a candy pick n mix of acclaimed talent to surround oneself in, spoiled for choice, and yet again overwhelmed by where to turn next. With more guitar riffs scheduled than the other two days put together it was certainly not easy making clear cut decisions on which bands to go check out. Who do you pick if you are faced with a hideous clash such as Trent Reznor and Mogwai for example?! I mean Trent has his prowess in composing industrial OSTs but well, Mogwai!!

This was mentioned not only in relation to this festival but also with the well-known Glastonbury succeeding, as there was much allusion in the press conference with Stuart, Barry, Martin and the boys on the topic of Metallica headlining and also clashing with them at the UK’s well-renowned Glastonbury festival, which has blown up over the last few weeks by the media to the point where at Michael Eavis’ little performance festival there are now t-shirts being sold with the Scottish band’s reaction printed.

The beginning of the day involved a mad dash to the indoor venue, Auditori Rockdelux, in which you could inhale some civilised chaos, for the acclaimed Kronos Quartet. Catching a couple of their classically astute tracks, it became blatant the reasons for almost being refused entry to this set, due to limited capacity. Fickle, as is the way at any music festival, I quietly exited this gig, to frantically head over to the Bowers & Wilkins tent, where I had noted Mogwai were doing a Q&A with fans, and an ‘exclusive first listening’ which was a badly-advertised stint. Excited at the prospect of new Mogwai material post Rave Tapes and Les Revenants OST I headed over to the tent with speakers of a grand affair to find that this was no first listening, unless you are willing to let it slide that they forgot to mention it was an exclusive first listening on the Bower and Wilkins speakers, somewhat different to what was suggested.

With the sunshine beaming down on Barcelona’s concrete park, there was little to complain about. Television belted out the whole of the Marquee Moon album, whilst news of The Pizza Underground cancelling their set in the Heineken Hidden Stage had evolved into jest in that Macaulay Culkin had missed his flight (a sneer at his old acting history in the John Hughes’Home Alone films), and Mogwai revealed more in their press conference at Primavera. Some new music on the way for a new series of Les Revenants, a new Mogwai malt in time for Christmas, and Dominic’s claim that he would like to score a film adaptation of The Bible; well, some of this session, considering it’s Mogwai, should be perhaps taken with a little pinch of salt. They jeer that they may actually make some money from the malt sales, more than they do from the music nevertheless.

Leaving the press lounge for the Pitchfork Stage to catch a little of Earl Sweatshirt’sfrenetic energy, before scooting to the ATP Stage for Godspeed You Black Emperor’s intense set, which had an oddly pronounced Balkan twist. It could perhaps be to suit the fans of Primavera, keeping the music somewhat ethereal but with a touch of lively. With visuals in the backdrop that could resemble a David Fincher film, for a fleeting moment it does feel that Trent Reznor’s set time had been moved slightly earlier, apart from the auditory noises of course.

Photo by Xarlene

Connan Mockasin, a psychedelic eccentric, held the stage rather comfortably, in his usual avant-garde attire, and kept me within tune yards of his stage, entranced by his trippy performance, before moving over to the Dismemberment Plan’s hipster scene of about three hundred, rocking it out in the way that only American scenesters would.

Although taking a de-tour by the Heineken Stage on which Nine Inch Nails were playing there was no doubt that I was going to see the provocative, non-so-serious Glasgow lads whose music, or more likely stage presence got people talking, debating and discussing all matter of political topics. There were three catalysts on that stage for enabling so. The first was before they even lifted their instruments, as the Catalan flag was flying, prominently on stage. Secondly, Stuart Braithwaite, a big advocate of the Yes vote for Scotland’s Independence appeared on stage, and then his guitar which modestly displayed a Yes sticker. Now this was enough for those in the audience, right, left and centre to discuss the parallels between Scotland’s political situation and Catalan’s.

A very unusual but refreshing stimulant away from the more intoxicating was that gig, inspiring fantastic debate. Not only that, but the sheer music satisfied its crowd with more than two walking away proclaiming its epic stature. The heavier of the three days in terms of genre, It was clear to me that this was Mogwai’s day at Primavera, starting out with about fifteen people at a badly organised Q&A leading to the penultimate provocation in a city refusing to speak Spanish, sparking the political autonomy discussions, in which case they really turned the whole thing around. Now Primavera 2015 I hope you manage to encourage more philosophising, and bring us as hell of a good line-up as you have this year.

After bumping into the curator and this year’s director of the Southbank Centre’s Meltdown Festival, James Lavelle, known to most as founder of Mo’ Wax ’92 and UNKLE, the excitement swells for this one-off acoustic extravaganza, led by Joshua Homme, vocalist for several bands including the widely acclaimed Queens of the Stone Age. Lavelle let me into a little secret about the actual set for the gigs proceedings.

Anticipations rising, whilst sitting in the bar next to the concert venue, it is blatant that I am rubbing shoulders at this gig with enthusiastic Homme fans, judging from the haircuts, dye and t-shirts present (and I presume I could be mistaken for being one of the die-hards from the offset). At this resolutely sold-out gig, acquiring tickets became a chore I know for some and apart from friends, family, press the venue unsurprisingly is filled with eager, and excited expressions. Although late in the Meltdown revelations, this was a one-off addition to the programme, which we should’ve possibly fathomed with Homme’s previous work with Lavelle, but which surprised in its nature.

Enjoying an overpriced beer before indulging in a cinematically unusual support, coming from The Cramps in the shape of footage from a performance back in 1984. The raw, punk and tongue-in-cheek elements incorporated into this video are perhaps a more appropriate pre-cursor for Kyuss, Eagles of Death Metal and Queens of the Stone Age front man appearing later for his headline set, with some special moments lined up.

From the moment that he took to the stage, all of my predisposed presumptions and anticipations had flown out of the window, staggeringly entering, hair shaved, suited harnessing a bottle of rouge and wine glass. Following a glass-shattering plunder of applause, wolf-whistles, elated heckling, charisma itself walked onto a stripped-down, dusky set. Aware of the acoustic, simplified components of the evening, there was no second-guessing that we would be witness to a more intimate, unrehearsed, comic night with a dapper gentleman, not short of wit but also of a blunder or two.

Clearly playing on the awareness of this persona, far removed from his QOTSA character, the audience was treated to a few rarities, which seemed to not only confuse, but make us all feel as though we were part of an exclusive party, subjected to a side of Homme that I assume very few fans will be accustomed to.

Charming us with Dean Martin and Johnny Cash covers, Memories Are Made of This and Dark As A Dungeon, I am sure that Homme faced a smug sea of aficionados intently focusing on his flawless vocals and degenerate banter. Fierce, unforgiving humour and his charismatic cool dominated the stage, as he took to his guitar and grand piano, playing with his friend and QOTSA guitar man, Troy Van Leeuwen, and comrade in the realms of UNKLE collaborations, Mark Lanegan. Lanegan, Homme, and Leeuwen treated the overwhelming spectators to a collaborative, haunting cover of One Hundred Days, all appropriately in the spirit of Mo’ Wax and UNKLE. Bluesy, husky, all three with an element of mystique, a ‘boy-band’ of the highest order.

One criticism with this gig, however, that there was complete free reign for Homme to err, and probably several times, as it was resoundingly clear that the crowd had already concluded that this gig was going to please, and every manner reacted as such, possibly swelling the artist’s ego on stage, forcing him to push his boundaries for the expectations of a Joshua Homme gig, which not always works out for the better. The lack of rehearse, abundance of improvisation clearly evident, but perhaps this all played to his comic guise.

Hanging Tree, from Homme’s musical collective Desert Sessions, pulled you intimately into this living room jam, effectively engaging. Homme’s gumption, his piffle, a plethora of gratuitous innuendos, were not the only thing to penetrate his listeners; his performance on the grand piano for The Vampyre of Time and Memory, as well as the much crowd-pleasing Into the Hollow seduced us all for a mere hour, followed by a standing ovation. Can anyone else command a crowd in the same way as Homme?! Informing us from the stage that, “there are too many things to fall madly in love with,” it would appear that one of these would be seeing Joshua Homme live, despite all the little gaffes.

Recent polls suggest that Sadiq Khan, Tessa Jowell or Diane Abbott will lead Labour’s next attempt to win City Hall, but nothing looks certain yet

Two surveys of Labour-supporting Londoners about their choice to be the party’s candidate for the next mayoral election in 2016 have produced two different results. What, if anything, does this mean?

The first was from a YouGov poll for the Evening Standard, which asked Londoners intending to vote Labour at next year’s general election who they would pick. Of these, 17% chose Diane Abbott – my MP, as it happens – followed by 14% who preferred Dame Tessa Jowell, 9% who went for Tottenham MP David Lammy and 8% who picked shadow London minister Sadiq Khan.

As shadow London minister, Khan has the in-built advantage of being able to regularly meet activists and constituency Labour parties and was rightly praised for Labour’s remarkable performance in London in the local elections (its best result since 1998).

Not long ago, I was handed the most outrageous, vile, dishonest and slanderous calumny uttered against the people of Canada. It was contained in a full-page advertisement in the National Post (founder, Conrad Black), a newspaper handed out – free, I’m happy to say – on my Air France flight out of Toronto. Here is the headline: “Almost 4 million Canadians are afflicted by this disease.”

An obsession with focus groups and gimmicky policies can only hurt the party it needs to present an inspiring alternative

Some policies are so wretchedly gimmicky, so blatant in their cynical political positioning, so insulting to the intelligence of the average punter, that it is tempting to drive to the nearest field and howl at the sky in exasperation. To mark Armed Forces Day, Labour trumpeted its plans to make it a "specific criminal offence to assault a member of the armed forces". As most of you are probably aware, it is already against the law to assault a soldier, or indeed anyone. Existing sentencing guidelines take into account aggravating factors. Why assaulting a teacher, nurse or firefighter is not made a specific criminal offence is left unexplained. If politicians wish to treat our armed forces with more respect, they should stop sending soldiers to be killed or maimed (or to kill and maim) in unjust foreign wars.

A minor complaint, but a revealing insight into the mindset of some of Labour’s top advisers. This cynical mindset was confirmed over the weekend by leaked comments from Jon Cruddas, head of Labour’s policy review, who said: "Interesting ideas and remedies are not going to emerge through Labour’s policy review." Cruddas is a thoughtful man despite a fondness for using unnecessarily clever-sounding words though I’m not sure why members of the Labour inner circle are stealing the job of columnists in publicly critiquing the party’s leadership. His suggestion that Labour strategists are creating "cynical" policies whose only purpose is to "chime with focus groups" and act as a "profound dead hand at the centre" is harsh but fair.

As the electoral commission prepares to publish its report into May’s famously slow East End count, others too have been seeking clarity about recent events

There’s been a bit of time slippage in the considerable list of probes and challenges surrounding Tower Hamlets council and some of its politicians. A report by inspectors sent into the Town Hall by communities secretary Eric Pickles back in April following a Panorama programme alleging favouritism in the allocation of community grants was originally scheduled for June 30, but I’m told the number crunchers from Pwc are still conducting interviews, with at least one scheduled well into July.

Pickles’s department has failed to respond to my request to confirm that the report’s delivery date has been put back, but I’m not the only one who thinks it looks that way. Meanwhile, those behind the election petition challenging the outcome of the mayoral election on May 22, which saw ex-Labour independent Lutfur Rahman win a second term, are still gathering material and, having initially had hopes of moving to the next stage in the process next month, are now aiming for September.

The fact is our campaign didnt connect with a large enough portion of the Bangladeshi community (a third of the electorate) in a significant enough way. Those who feel Lutfur has been treated badly again outlined their support for him. This isnt just because he is Bangladeshi; the Bangladeshi community are smarter than that, they are some of the most politically aware people in the country. It was because they, on balance, felt that he has done a good job in difficult circumstances.

Many felt the attacks on his record were harsh: some acknowledged them and even agreed, but voted for him anyway as they felt the good outweighed the bad. Additionally, he didnt just receive support from the Bangladeshi community. The Labour party did receive a lot of support from that community and Lutfur must have, to make the numbers match, received support from other communities as well.